failed to create folder

This is typically an antivirus issue.  So please set an exception in your antivirus for EADesktop.exe.  You'll likely also need exceptions for TS4_x64, TS4_DX9_x64, and TS4_Launcher_x64.

If the exception doesn't help, uninstall the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) and reinstall it, then try again, still adding the exception.  If that doesn't work either, disable your antivirus, temporarily, and try again.  You can reenable it as soon as you run the update.

What if this does not work? I’m currently having the same issue, I’ve gone through all my security settings, antivirus disabled temporarily while trying to update the game, nothing has worked. Also tried uninstalling and reinstalling , tried app recovery and clear cache. :(

csyrett02  Please uninstall Sims 4 and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine), to remove registry entries and other hidden files.  Use the Intensive scanning method for the EA App.

Restart your computer, reinstall the App, and create a new folder into which you'll install Sims 4.  The folder should be on the root level of the drive, for example C:\Games is fine, but not C:\Program Files\Games.

I would suggest leaving your antivirus disabled during this process and until you've successfully opened Sims 4 once, if you get that far.  As long as you don't do anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe.  Then you can set exceptions for EADesktop.exe plus TS4_x64, TS4_DX9_x64, and TS4_Launcher_x64, or the entire Bin folder the last three are in.

It's possible you have some other kind of program monitoring or protecting your My Documents folder.

To me, that error reads as if Sims 4 can't create the Sims4 (or possible the Electronic Arts) sub-folders under "My Documents". 

One possibility is to try launching from the desktop icon as admin though I don't know what affect that will have on Steam. You might have to run Steam as admin, and I don't know if that's advisable).

It's also quite possible you need to follow puzzleaddict's advice, but I would start with the easiest and see if the Electronic Arts folder exists under my documents. If not, it might just be a simple permissions issue.

Dangerferret  If you look at the error itself, it's referencing the Program Files folder, as in, where Sims 4 is installed by default.  It has nothing to do with the user folder in Documents, and players with this error can't get far enough to start the game (and therefore involve anything inside Documents) anyway.

puzzlezaddictI did in fact look at the error itself.  I also looked at the rest of the screen, which showed an install completed. Also, I read what you were responding to in this instance: someone who was not the OP who posted the screenshot.

It's strange to me a game that functioned previously would suddenly need a whole bunch of AV exceptions to update and continue running, and in the years I've been running the Sims (since the Sims existed at all, and SimCity before that) I have not once run into an issue that forced me to change my AV settings for a game that ran just fine until I tried to update it.

If it were earlier days, I'd say the likeliest actual error was the C drive running out of space.

Maybe it's the exact same error with the exact same folder name. Maybe it's just similar enough to be considered the same problem. But it's very hard to say for certain.

As a long time Steam AND Origin user, I'm aware gaming software companies aren't always the best at correctly trapping and reporting errors. Just take a look at the state of these forums I can't even get to directly through EA.com because they redirect me to answers. Origins/ the EA App is not a well-tested platform and has proved buggy and problematic in the past.

As a software tester with 30 years experience, I'm also well aware that what problems seem to be often aren't the root cause. Just because a screen in Steam or Origin says the problem occurs somewhere doesn't mean that it's an accurate message. So I offered a suggestion that would be an easy fix if accurate, would cause no harm (folder permission aren't destructive as I'm sure you're aware) if it failed.  And I did so because I saw some subtle differences between what the OP is experiencing and what the second user is experiencing and because in all my yeas playing The Sims, especially with the Sims 4, almost all the problems I've experienced that resulted in any error had to do with its save location in My Documents, no matter what the error message claimed.

I feel checking simple things first is always best. Your best solution involves another complete re-install, running a registry scrubber and then creating exceptions and installing to a non-default location. Why should it be necessary to change directory structure to run a game that was just running before the update and presumably with the same AV package running? It isn't.

If it's an AV issue, the best test is to simply disable all AV and trying running the update without AV active.

But it's possible that the easier solutions won't work and what you suggested will be the solution. It's just nothing I would ever recommend to anyone as a first step, and I certainly wouldn't criticize someone for having a different solution.

YOU say this error couldn't possibly involve Documents, where users install mods and where saves are located and where AV and gaming software are most likely to conflict. I say, I've written and run a lot of code in my life. You might have as well. Errors fall through.

Your solution could conceivably take several hours and still not work. If mine fails to solve the problem, it would take a matter of seconds to check.

And then I suggested they follow through with your suggestions if it wasn't something easier.

All clear now?